AskAresh

General Resources

· Cluster Team Site: Clustering Technical Resources
· Guide: Failover Clustering Deployment
· Guide: Validating Hardware for a Failover Cluster
· Guide: Migrating Cluster Settings
· Guide: Configuring the Quorum in a Failover Cluster
· Guide: Configuring Accounts in Active Directory
· Guide: Configure a Service or Application for High Availability
· Guide: Modifying Settings for a Failover Cluster
· Guide: Installing a Failover Cluster
· Guide: Creating a Failover Cluster
· Guide: Cluster Requirements
· Guide: Validating a cluster
· Guide: Managing a Failover Cluster
· Guide: The Failover Cluster Management Snap-In
· TechNet: Support Policy
· Webcast: Top 10 Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering Enhancements over Windows Server 2003 Clustering, Based on Best Practices (Level 300)
· Webcast: Failover Clustering 101
· Webcast: Achieving High Availability with Windows Server “Longhorn” Clustering (Level 200)
Webcast: Microsoft Webcast: Reducing IT Overhead with Windows Server 2008 Storage Features 
Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Build High-Availability Infrastructures with Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering
Webcast: IT Manager Webcast: Delivering High Availability to Your Infrastructure
Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Failover Cluster Validation and Troubleshooting with Windows Server 2008
Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Failover Clustering and Quorum in Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Storage
Webcast: TechNet Virtual Lab: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Failover Clustering Lab
· Whitepaper: Failover Cluster Architecture Overview
· Whitepaper: Microsoft’s HA Strategy
· Whitepaper: Overview of Failover Clustering

Core

· Utility: Remote Server Administration Tools (simplifies Server Core configurations)
· Guide: Server Core
· TechNet: Installation
· Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: Enhancing High Availability with Server Core in Windows Server 2008

Exchange Server

• Lab: TechNet Virtual Lab: Exchange Server 2007 Standby Continuous Replication
• Lab: TechNet Virtual Lab: Using Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) in Exchange 2007
• TechNet: Installing Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) on 2008
• TechNet: Deploying Exchange 2003 in a Cluster
• TechNet: Planning for Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR)
• TechNet: Installing CCR on Windows Server 2008
• Webcast: How Microsoft IT Implemented New Storage Designs for Exchange Server 2007

File Server

· Guide: Configuring a Two-Node File Server Failover Cluster
· TechNet: Creating a Clustered File Server checklist
· TechNet: Create a Shared Folder in a Clustered File Server
· WebCast: TechNet Webcast: Prepare Yourself for Windows Server 2008 (Part 5 of 8): New File Server Features
· WebCast: How Microsoft IT Deploys Windows 2008 Clusters for File Services
· Webcast: New File Server Features of Windows Server 2008 (Level 200)

Hyper-V

· Guide: Testing Hyper-V and Failover Clustering
· Guide: Getting Started with Hyper-V
· Guide: Design for a Failover Cluster in Which All Nodes Run Hyper-V
· TechNet: High-Availability for a Server Running Hyper-V
· TechNet: Requirements and Recommendations for Failover Clusters in Which All Nodes Run Hyper-V
· TechNet: Failover Cluster in which the Servers run Hyper-V
· Webcast: TechNet Webcast: High Availability with Hyper-V
· Webcast: TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Windows Server 2008 (Part 24 of 24): High Availability with Hyper-V
· Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Creating Business Continuity Solutions Using Windows Virtualization
· Whitepaper: Quick Migration with Hyper-V

Multi-Site Clustering

· Cluster Team Site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/clustering-multisite.aspx
· Guide: Deployment Considerations for Windows Server 2008 failover cluster nodes on different, routed subnets
· Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Geographically Dispersed Failover Clustering in Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
· Webcast: How You Can Achieve Greater Availability with Failover Clustering Across Multiple Sites (Level 300) 
· Whitepaper: Multi-site Clustering

Network Load Balancing

· Guide: NLB Troubleshooting Overview
· Guide: Server Core: Install the NLB feature
· Guide: Create/manage/destroy NLB clusters via NLB Manager remotely from another server, or from RSAT client (admin pack) on Vista
· TechNet: Configuring NLB with Terminal Services
· TechNet: NLB Deployment Guide
· TechNet: Implementing a new NLB Cluster
· TechNet: Verifying the NLB Cluster and Enabling Client Access
· TechNet: Overview of NLB
· TechNet: Creating NLB Clusters
· TechNet: Managing NLB Clusters
· TechNet: Setting NLB Parameters
· TechNet: Controlling Hosts on NLB clusters
· TechNet: Troubleshooting for System Event Messages Related to NLB Cluster
· TechNet: User Interface: NLB Manager
· TechNet: Upgrading a NLB Cluster
· Webcast: 24 Hours of Windows Server 2008 (Part 23 of 24): Failover Clustering and Network Load Balancing

SQL Server

• Guide: SQL Server 2000 with Failover Clustering
• MSDN: Getting Started with SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering
• MSDN: Configuring SQL Server 2005 Failover Clustering
• MSDN: Configuring SQL Server 2000 Failover Clustering
• TechNet: Database Mirroring and Failover Clustering
• TechNet: SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring FAQs
• TechNet: Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005
• Webcast: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Failover Clustering on Windows Server 2008
• Webcast: TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of SQL Server 2008: Ensuring Business Continuity
• Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Overview of SQL Server Availability Features and Upcoming Improvements
• Webcast: TechNet Webcast: Achieving Higher Scalability with SQL Server on Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (Level 300)
• Webcast: Ensuring Business Continuance with SQL Server 2005 Data Availability Solutions (Level 300)
• Webcast: Clustering Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000/2005 (Level 200)
• Webcast: SQL Server 2005 for the IT Professional (Part 7 of 11): Technologies and Features to Improve Availability (Level 200)
• Webcast: SQL Server 2005 Failover Clustering for SQL Server 2000 Users (Level 200)
• Webcast: An Introduction to How SQL Server 2005 Can Help You Deliver Highly Available Database Systems (Level 200)
• Webcast: Clustering Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 and 2005 (Level 200) 
• Webcast: How to cluster Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by using Microsoft Virtual Server
• Whitepaper: SQL Server 2008 Replication: Providing High Availability using Database Mirroring

Useful Link:http://blogs.msdn.com/clustering/

These step-by-step guides help IT Professionals learn about and evaluate Windows Server 2008.

With Storage Manager for SANs, you can create and manage logical unit numbers (LUNs) on Fibre Channel and iSCSI disk drive subsystems that support Virtual Disk Service (VDS) in your storage area network (SAN). This guide provides server and storage subsystem requirements, an introduction to managing LUNs, and step-by-step walkthroughs for creating and assigning LUNs using Storage Manager for SANs in Windows Server 2008.

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=06556478-838c-450e-9173-9851378271ad&DisplayLang=en

Thanks
Aresh

Cluster validation wizard is used to check pre-requisite\best practices before building the cluster. While playing with my lab, I came across a issue under Network Test.

Error:
Found duplicate IP address fe80::100:7f:fffe%14 on node node1.vodka.com adapter Local Area Connection* X and node node2.vodka.com adapter Local Area Connection* X.

Resolution:
It turns out that this is the result of the Teredo, an IPv6 Tunneling Protocol. Teredo allows IPv6 communications to pass through IPv4 NATs and IPv4 servers. However Teredo gives an identical IPv6 address to its network interfaces, which Failover Clustering flags as an error since it require unique IP addresses.

So how do you fix this? There are 2 ways, some details are provided here: http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/91d35c9f-3049-44f4-b711-743dc152c7c31033.mspx?mfr=true

1) Disable Teredo through command line

a. Open ‘Command Prompt’ and ‘Run as Administrator’
b. Type:
           i. > netsh
          ii. > interface
          iii. > teredo
          iv. > set state disabled
c. Teredo will now be disabled

2) Disable Teredo through the registry

a. Open the Registry Editor

i. This can be done through an elevated Command Prompt and typing ‘regedit’

b. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6

c. Right-click on the ‘Parameters’ tab, select ‘New’, choose ‘DWORD’

i. Enter the following name (including capitalization): “DisabledComponents”

d. Double-click on “DisabledComponents”, select ‘Hexadecimal’, under ‘Value data’

i. Enter “8”

e. Click ‘OK’
f. Restart your machine
g. Teredo will now be disabled

But what about disabling Teredo through Device Manager?  This will only disable the Teredo adapter so the system does not see it anymore, however this does not disable the underlying logic.  This could cause issues later, so it is recommended to disable it through the command line or the registry.

Run Validate and this test will now pass. Enjoy your fully supported cluster!

Don’t forget to leave your valuable comments.

Thanks,
Aresh

Useful Blogs:
Microsoft’s Failover and Network Load Balancing Clustering Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/clustering/